“Constitutional Crisis” in Israel – Yehudism is the driving force
Yehudism is a supremacist, predatory, violent and murderous ideology, which evolved in Israel out of Orthodox-Judaism, fostered and sponsored for decades by “left” and right-wing governments. It provides the ideological basis for the Jewish-Israeli Apartheid regime. Today, it is the driving force behind the current “Constitutional Crisis” (in a nation with no constitution). It corrupts Judaism worldwide. US Jews should lead the struggle against Yehudism and the Jewish-Israeli Apartheid regime.Tel Aviv, March 25 – Menachem Klein, Professor Emeritus of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University, has published this weekend an opinion piece titled: “Supremacy, oppression, power - the toxic face of the new Judaism.”[i] Klein’s opinion is particularly notable, since it comes from Bar-Ilan University – a unique Israeli phenomenon: A public university with clear identification with Orthodox Judaism, name after a Orthodox rabbi, where at least ten courses in Jewish studies are required for graduation.
David Ohana, Professor Emeritus of State of Israel Studies at Ben Gurion University, has published this weekend an opinion piece titled: “Bezalel Smotrich’s Nihilism is close to Nazism.” [ii] Settler Smotrich is the leader of the “Religious Zionism” party, currently he holds the office of Minister of the Treasury and is one of the key figures in the current ruling coalition.[iii] Ohana’s assertions should not be applied only to Smotrich, as an individual, but to the Orthodox-Jewish religious ideology, which Smotrich represents – Yehudism.
Yehudism is a supremacist, predatory, violent and murderous ideology. It evolved out of Orthodox-Judaism in Israel, fostered and sponsored for decades by “left” and right-wing governments. It provides the ideological basis for the Jewish-Israeli Apartheid regime, and the driving force behind the current “Constitutional Crisis” in Israel.
Yehudism is supported by some segments of the Jewish-Orthodox community in the US and Europe as well. It corrupts Judaism worldwide and is likely to become a disgrace for generations to come.
There is no such thing as a Palestinian people and Greater Israel
What triggered Ohana’s piece was Smotrich’s appearance in Paris last week. From a podium decorated with the map of “Greater Israel” – stretching from the Mediterranean to Iraq, including Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territories, the Kingdom of Jordan and parts of Saudi Arabia – Smotrich announced that there was no such thing as a “Palestinian people”.
Jewish Press on Twitter: “Smotrich in Paris: ‘No such thing as Palestinian people’”.
https://mobile.twitter.com/JewishPress/status/1637766515444334599
Smotrich’s statement drew condemnation from France, through the US, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, all the way to China.[iv,v,vi]
The aspiration for Greater Israel is central to Yehudism. At the center of the “Constitutional Crisis” and widespread protest is a series of laws, which are now in the process of being enacted, and which aim at weakening the judicial branch and providing the executive branch with much greater power.[vii] However, it should be noted that the first law enacted in this series was the law repealing the 2005 Disengagement Plan.[viii]
The 2005 Disengagement Plan led to the withdrawal from Gaza and the establishment of the Gaza Ghetto in its current form, and to the dismantling of a small number of Jewish settlements in the northern part of the occupied Palestinian territories and prohibition by Israeli law of building new Jewish settlements in that area (all Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are a war crime pursuant to international law) .
Following the repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Plan, Yehudist settler “Minister of National Missions” Orit Strook (“Religious Zionism” party) announced:
"I don't know how many years it will take ... the return to Gaza involves many sacrifices. Gaza is part of the Land of Israel and the day will come when we will return to it."
Zachary Foster on Twitter
https://twitter.com/_ZachFoster/status/1638281839432421382?s=20
Obviously, any Israeli government to which Yehudists are partners, denying the existence of a Palestinian people and aspiring for Greater Israel, wouldn’t negotiate any peace, based on the “Two-state Solution” with the Palestinians.
Erasing Huwara and a genocidal ideology
Smotrich’s comments in Paris were no gaffe. Earlier this month, following the Huwara Pogrom by Jewish settlers in collusion with Israeli occupation forces, he called for “erasing Huwara.”
Breaking the Silence on Twitter: “"I liked a tweet that called to erase the village of Huwara because I think the village of Huwara needs to be erased. The state of Israel is the one that needs to erase it."
Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister, MK Religious Zionism party.”
https://twitter.com/BtSIsrael/status/1630914133678850055
Smotrich’s “Vanquishing Plan”
Prof. Ohana reasons his opinion regarding the similarity between Smotrich’s Yehudist ideology Nazism:
“With Smotrich it is a comprehensive world view, which includes an action plan, which binds him to indefatigably act to annihilate the Palestinians, to erase their identity, to deprive their rights, to destroy their homes.”
Prof Ohana also refers to Smotrich’s 2017 “Vanquishing Plan,” where Smotrich writes:[ix]
“No more dragging our feet and cosmetic solutions of chasing the mosquitoes, but drying the whole swamp, and addressing the root problem to completion.”
The “realistic plan” is evident on a daily basis in the occupied Palestinian territories, where Yehudist settler assault Palestinians and Jewish-Israeli anti-Apartheid activists.[x]
The “realistic plan” was stated more explicitly on different occasions by Yehudist Effi Eitam, retired brigadier general, former leader of the National Religious Party, and a minister in previous Netanyahu governments. In a bizarre twist, in 2020 Eitam was nominated by Netanyahu as head of Yad Vashem – the Israeli national Holocaust remembrance institute.[xi]
Eitam’s statement are clearly of genocidal character.
Yehudism’s religious teachers
The “religious conceptual manifesto”, referred to in Smotrich’s “Vanquishing Plan” is provided by a coven of Yehudist Orthodox rabbis, the most notorious of them being US-born Yitzchak Ginsburgh. It should be noted that Ginsburgh belongs to the US-based Chabad movement, and is considered a leading Jewish scholar by Chabad. Chabad itself is generally treated in the US as a normative mainstream Orthodox-Jewish sect and accordingly benefits from tax-exempt status.
Of note, Smotrich (then Minister of Transportation) and his Yehudist colleague Rafi Peretz (then Minister of Education) attended the 2019 awarding to Ginsburgh of a Ministry of Education sponsored "Creativity in Torah" prize for Jewish scholarship.[xii]
Obviously, such incitement to racism and violence by Jews is perpetrated with impunity. Had any Palestinian expressed opinions regarding Jews, even remotely similar, he would have been immediately arrested.
The goal – establishing a Jewish theocracy
Another tenet of Yehudism is the aspiration for transforming the State of Israel into a theocracy under Halachic (Jewish religious) law. Weakening the courts is required for advancing this goal as well.
If Not Now on Twitter
https://twitter.com/IfNotNowOrg/status/1140635810309517312?s=20
According to Smotrich the goal is a Jewish theocratic monarchy. However, Smotrich is no Jewish scholar. According to Jewish law, a Jewish theocracy today should be ruled by a commission of Jewish scholars – a Sanhedrin.
“Combating Antisemitism” is used to shield Yehudism and the Jewish-Israeli Apartheid regime
One doubts that Ohana could get his opinion published today in any mainstream newspaper in the US.
In Germany, publishing such opinion could have triggered criminal prosecution and conviction.[xiii]
German law has continuously restricted criticism of Israel as “antisemitic”.[xiv] The trend was exacerbate following the widespread adaption of the “non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism” by IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance). The definition itself does not refer to the State of Israel or Zionism. However, the examples provided by IHRA explicitly include: [xv]
“Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,” and “Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity. However, criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”
World Jews and Yehudism
In February 2022, the Board of Deputies of British Jews UK Jews issued an unprecedented condemnation of Smotrich, in advance of his planned visit to the UK, referring to his “abominable opinions and hate mongering ideology”. The Board called for UK Jewish communities to boycott Smotrich during his visit. However, it should be noted that the Board published its condemnation only in Hebrew [translation added – jz].
Board of Deputies of British Jews on Twitter: “We reject Bezalel Smotrich’s abominable opinions and hate mongering ideology”… [Hebrew original, translation added – jz]
https://twitter.com/BoardofDeputies/status/1491481825147072515?s=20
In mid-March, Smotrich traveled to Washington DC, where he was featured as a keynote speaker in the annual convention of the Israel Bonds (Development Corporation for Israel (DCI)). Ahead of his visit, Some US Jewish groups called upon the US government to revoke his visa and prohibit his entry to the US.[xvi] Eventually, US officials and some but not all parts of the US Jewish community boycotted his visit.[xvii,xviii]
The ideological relationship between the extremist Orthodox-Jewish Kahanism of the 1980s and 1990s and Netanyahu government’s Yehudist partners – Religious Zionism and Jewish Might parties – are obvious.[xix,xx,xxi,xxii] The Kahane group, which was a marginal fringe group at the time, was outlawed in Israel in 1994 and was listed by the US authorities as a “terror group” in 1995.[xxiii]
Today, some 30 years later, the same ideology is much more prevalent, both in Israel and among Jewish communities worldwide. The Israeli government is under their control, and the Israeli government fosters, funds and arms Yehudism, while US and EU authorities are turning a blind eye.
Jewish communities are squirmish in putting up a real, clearcut, vocal opposition.
Next: “Constitutional Crisis” in Israel -- a Yeats moment
LINKS
i Menachem Klein “Supremacy, oppression, power - the toxic face of the new Judaism” Haaretz (2003)
ii David Ohana “Bezalel Smotrich’s Nihilism is close to Nazism” Haaretz (2023)
iii Joseph Zernik “Holocaust Commemoration Day and "Religious Zionism", OpEdNews.com (2022)
iv Lazar Berman, AFP and Jacob Magid "US joins condemnations of Smotrich’s ‘concerning and dangerous’ Paris speech" Times of Israel (2023)
v Benjamin Barthe "Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's ultra-nationalist minister, delivers anti-Palestinian diatribe in Paris" Le Monde (2023)
vi Riyaz ul Khaliq "‘Irresponsible’: China blasts Israeli minister denying Palestinian existence" AA (2023)
vii Daniel Estrin "Israel protests intensify over judicial system overhaul" NPR (2023)
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/18/1164565603/israel-protests-intensify-over-judicial-system-overhaul
Hadas Gold and Amir Tal "Israel passes law shielding Netanyahu from being removed amid protests over judicial changes" CNN(2023)
viii Tzvi Joffre "Israel repealed the Disengagement law: What comes next? - explainer" The Jerusalem Post (2023)
ix Bezalel Smotrich “The vanquishing plan: The key to peace resides in the right” Ha-Shiloah 81 (2017)
https://hashiloach.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/hashiloach-6-pnim-print-1.pdf
x Joseph Zernik “Holocaust Commemoration Day and 'Religious Zionism'” OpEdnews.com (2022)
xi TOI Staff "Far-right ex-minister picked to head Yad Vashem hits back at ‘baseless’ censure" Times of Israel (2020)
xii Joseph Zernik "Notoriously racist, settlers' "Rabbi" wins Jewish scholarship prize" OpEdnews.com (2019)
xiii Amanda Borschel-Dan "German judge rules: Anti-Zionism is code for anti-Semitism" Times of Israel (2015)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-judge-rules-anti-zionism-is-code-for-anti-semitism/
xiv Emily Harris "German Anti-Semitism Laws Stifle Critics of Israel" NPR (2006)
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6047204
xv IHRA “About the IHRA non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism” IHRA
xvi Judah Ari Gross and Jacob Magid "Liberal American Jews urge US to revoke Smotrich’s visa over Huwara remarks" Times of Israel (2023)
xvii i24NEWS Staff "U.S. officials to boycott Smotrich during his visit - report" i24NEWS (2023)
xviii Aaron Boxerman "U.S. Jewish Groups to Shun Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Washington Visit" Wall Street Journal (2023)
xix TOI Staff "After AIPAC rebuke, Netanyahu defends aiding Kahanists: ‘Hypocrisy by the left’" Times of Israel (2019)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-aipac-rebuke-pm-defends-aiding-kahanists-hypocrisy-by-the-left/
xx Yossi Verter "Israel Election: Netanyahu Knows Putting Kahanists in the Security Cabinet Is His Key to Stay Out of Court" Haaretz (2022)
xxi TOI Staff “Ultranationalists launching party to the right of Ben Gvir’s extremist Otzma Yehudit” Times of Israel (2022)
xxii Editorial “Kahanism Won. Israel Is Now Closing in on a Right-wing, Religious, Authoritarian Revolution” Haaretz (2002)
xxiii Dean E. Murphy "Terror Label No Hindrance To Anti-Arab Jewish Group" New York Times (2000)
https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/19/nyregion/terror-label-no-hindrance-to-anti-arab-jewish-group.html
